Man is charged in rape, attack

North Side crimes raised vigilance

Chicago police arrested a West Side man Sunday who allegedly raped one woman and attacked another on the North Side last month.

Paul Cruikshank, 24, of the 4000 block of West Cullerton Street was charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault in the rape of a woman Dec. 20 in the 3500 block of North Sheffield Avenue, police spokesman Carlos Herrera said.

Cruikshank also has been charged with the Dec. 18 attack on a woman in the 2100 block of North Sheffield, but details will not be released until Monday, Herrera said.

A source close to the investigation said Cruikshank was arrested after an incident in Forest Park.

The source also said Cruikshank gave a statement to police admitting the rape, the attempted rape and another crime in Forest Park. Forest Park police said they had no information to release Sunday night.

Analysis of DNA is pending, the source said.

The source said Cruikshank was also charged with attempted aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping in the Dec. 18 attack and home invasion.

Police increased patrols in the Wrigleyville and Lincoln Park neighborhoods last month and volunteers distributed sketches of the suspect at elevated train stops and businesses.

Neighborhood groups organized community forums, conducted volunteer patrols and offered escorts to women coming home from "L" stops in the days after the attacks.

In the Dec. 18 attack, a woman was hit over the head in the doorway of her apartment. The attacker ran, however, police said.

On Dec. 20, a woman was approached from behind near her apartment in the 3500 block of North Sheffield Avenue about 7:40 p.m. as she walked home from the Red Line's Addison station, police said.

A man placed an object that the woman described as "feeling like a gun" to her back. He demanded money, led her to her upstairs apartment, hit her in the face and raped her, police said. He took her cell phone and ATM card, police said.

Police released video surveillance of the attacker trying to use the woman's card to get money out of an ATM machine shortly after the Dec. 20 attack and again the next morning.

The surveillance tape mostly showed the attacker's back, but police said they are hoping someone will recognize the man.

A third attack of a woman in the 3700 block of North Wilton Avenue Dec. 19 is not connected to the other cases, police said.

Police are still looking for that suspect, who attacked the woman, forced her into her apartment, and raped and tied her up.

The suspect is described as an African-American man of medium build, weighing between 185 and 200 pounds who wore a red hooded sweatshirt and black puffy jacket.